Spectators react to mistrial at Bill Cosby trial

NORRISTOWN >> “It’s a blessing!” a Bill Cosby supporter shouted as the entertainer emerged from the Montgomery County Courthouse on Saturday after a mistrial was declared at his sexual assault trial.

Other Cosby supporters who stood in a drenching rain shouted, “Happy Father’s Day, Bill” and “There’s no evidence, you must acquit.”

The reaction to the mistrial was also swift from supporters of alleged Cosby victim Andrea Constand.

“You can never underestimate the blinding power of celebrity. Justice will come,” said well-known civil rights and celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, who attended the trial each day and often stepped to a podium outside the courthouse to address the media.

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Allred represents Kelly Johnson, who accused Cosby of engaging in sexual misconduct with her in 1996, and who was the first witness called by prosecutors at Cosby’s trial as a so-called “prior bad acts” witness.

Allred said she hopes the retrial of Cosby will include the testimony of additional women who have accused the actor of uncharged sexual misconduct. Allred represents many of those women.

“If the court allows more accusers to testify next time, it might make a difference. In other words, it’s too early to celebrate, Mr. Cosby. Round two may be just around the corner and this time justice may prevail,” Allred said.

Cosby’s wife, Camille, issued a statement, which was read by an assistant of Cosby’s publicist, in which she criticized prosecutors for taking the case to court.

“How do I describe the district attorney? Heinously and exploitively ambitious,” Camille Cosby wrote in the statement. “How do I describe the judge? Overtly and arrogantly collaborating with the district attorney. How do I describe the counsels for the accusers? Totally unethical.”

District Attorney Kevin Steele declined to comment when asked about Camille Cosby’s statement.

Camille Cosby, who attended one day of the trial last week, also criticized the media as “greedily selling sensationalism at the expense of a human life.”

The actor’s wife said she was grateful to any of the jurors “who tenaciously fought to review the evidence; which is the rightful way to make a sound decision…ultimately, that is a manifestation of justice, based on facts, not lies.”

Camille Cosby thanked her husband’s defense team of Brian J. McMonagle and Angela C. Agrusa for “their hard work” and “passionate and powerful articulations of truths.”

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.